“I don’t have any belief that something’s going to come out of here in 15 months,” said Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), ranking member on the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health, at a POLITICO Pro Deep Dive event at the Newseum.

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Although advocates for mental health have been bullish about advancing their public policy agenda following the Newtown shooting, McDermott noted that a similar tragedy early in his congressional career didn’t spur action for five years.

Rather, he said, he predicted “trench warfare” on the issue for the foreseeable future.

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 8:29 a.m. on March 5, 2013.